Basketball Game Preview: Marcos de Niza Padres vs. Mesquite Wildcats

Marcos de Niza hasn't had much luck against Mesquite recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Marcos de Niza Padres will be playing at home against the Mesquite Wildcats at 7:00 p.m.

Marcos de Niza is headed into Thursday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their 11th straight game on Tuesday. They were dealt a 46-15 loss at the hands of St. Mary's.

Meanwhile, Mesquite entered their tilt with Saguaro on Tuesday with eight consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with nine. They breezed by the Sabercats to the tune of 97-35. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 49-19.

Mesquite found their leader in sophomore Jensen Cowart, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and ten rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Cowart has scored all season. Rebekah Udall was another key player, going 5 for 7 on her way to 12 points and seven assists.

Mesquite smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in 23 consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Mesquite's victory was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 21-1. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 20.9 points per game. As for Marcos de Niza, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-17.

Marcos de Niza was taken down by Mesquite 116-7 in their previous meeting on January 10th. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Mesquite's Navae Guidry, who went 14 of 19 en route to 30 points along with eight steals and six boards. Now that Marcos de Niza knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.